NCIt definition : A dihydropteridinone Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) inhibitor with potential antineoplastic
activity. Volasertib selectively inhibits Plk1, inducing selective G2/M arrest followed
by apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells while causing reversible cell arrest at the
G1 and G2 stage without apoptosis in normal cells. Plk1, named after the polo gene
of Drosophila melanogaster, is a serine/threonine protein kinase involved in regulating
mitotic spindle function in a non-ATP competitive manner.;